In Pueblo, the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors strongly supports a hike in the local sales tax to help fund tourism attractions and animal control. The board is neutral on a proposed statewide income tax hike for schools.

The Latino Chamber of Commerce isn’t taking a formal position on either tax measure in favor of letting results of a membership survey do its talking. The group’s surveys found 53 percent support for the local tax hike and much less for the state tax hike.

One group is mum on both measures: the Pueblo Economic Development Corp.

“PEDCo has a long-standing practice of not taking positions on political issues, so PEDCo has no position on either one of those tax issues,” said Jack Rink, president of the group.

For the chambers of commerce, their positions on tax questions are driven by the details of the specific measures, according to their longtime presidents, Rod Slyhoff at the Pueblo Chamber and Sandy Gutierrez at the Latino Chamber.

Taxes are “always a tough issue for us and it’s something we talk about quite a bit,” Slyhoff said.

“We’re not typically in favor of additional taxes but because 1A (the local sales tax hike) is going to help those tourism industries, we ultimately think it will promote and bring people to Pueblo and generate more sales taxes and revenue,” he said.

The reasoning led to a recommendation of “strongly support,” he said.

The statewide tax question didn’t generate the same level of enthusiasm because the measure would hike income tax rates, he said. “I think the board thought that could be a little tough for us” to endorse, so the group opted to stay neutral, Slyhoff said.

At the Latino Chamber, Gutierrez said her board of directors reviewed the measures but was undecided over issuing any formal declaration of support or opposition. The board called for a membership survey, she said.

The informal survey of the group’s 525 members drew a response rate of about 12 percent.

Fifty-three percent were in support and 24 percent in opposition of the local sales tax hike, Gutierrez said. A separate survey on the statewide income tax hike found 38 percent in support and 39 percent in opposition, she said.

A common thread in both surveys was a large percentage of respondents who said they want more information on the two ballot questions before making a decision, she said.

“For both of them, I think we (in the business community) really need more information on them,” she said. To that end, the Latino Chamber on Friday hosted a presentation on both measures at the group’s monthly luncheon.

Any uncertainty among businesses about the two measures also stems from the current weak economic climate and worries abut whether higher taxes could chill the economy, Gutierrez said.

“Business are always willing to invest in the community — and a lot of that is through additional taxes. But at the end of the day, in the current climate, they’re asking is it really going to help grow my community and my business,” she said.

How business owners answer that question will help decide the fate of the two tax measures come Election Day.